The Brookhaven leader., 1887-05-19


other, not one person escaping tits g
steady
~ could not be tempted a. you are"
The lion thinks IL is so strange that the
fish should be caught with hook. The
FISH thinks 1t is so strange that the lion
should be caught with a trap. You see
some man with cold, phiegmatic TEN.
perament and you say:
81 suppose that man has not any tsmets-
tiop,n
Yes, as much as you have. In his
phlegmatic nature he has a temptation ia
| incidence, and consciousness, and over.
eating and drinking; a temptation TO ig-
more the great work of lifeI temptat ton
TO lay down an obstacle in the way of all
good enterprises The temperament de-
cides the styles of temptation; but, san
guine or Emphatic, you will have tempta-
tion. Satan has a grappling-hook just
fitted to your soul A man never lives
beyond the reach of temptation. You say
| when man gets to be seventy or eighty
! years of age he is safe from all Satanic
| assault You are very much mistaken.
A man at eighty-tive years of age has as
many temptations rs q man OF twenty
FIVE. They are only different styles of
temptation.
Ask the aged Christian whether he is
never assaulted of the powers Of dark
ness. If you think you have conquered
the power of temptation, you are very
much mistaken,
A man who wanted a throne pretended
he was very weak and siCkly and if he
was elevated he would soon be gone. He
crawled npon his crutches TO the thrc ne,
and, having attained it, he was strong
again. He said:
| at foN ma yrbiIa ,uoa
4 ing for the scepter of another, that
should stoop; but now that l have found
it, why should l stoop any longer?' and he
threw away his crutrhes and was well
| again.
How illustrative of the power Of temp
tation' You think it is weak and Grip
pied infuenc e; but give II a chance ero it
| VIII become tyrant IN your soul; it will
| grind you to atoms. No man has finally
and forever overcome temptation until he
has left the world, But what are you to
90 with these temptationsl Tell every
oody about them! All, what silly man
| you would be
As well might commander in fort
| send wero 10 the enemy which gate of the
castle is least barred, as for you to go and
tell what all your failings are, and what
your temptations are. The world will
only car!cature you, will only scott you
What then must u man do! When the
wave strikes him with terrific dash, shall
he have nothing to hold on toi In this
contest with "the world, the flesh and the
devih" shall a man have no help, no
ccrnseli
Our text intimates something different
In those eyes that wept with the bethany
sisters see shining hore. In that voice
W ana 10 Z. nj n ho
widow OK Main had back her lost son, and
the sea slept, and sorrow stupendous w oke
up in the arms Of rapture-in that voice l
hear the word of command and the
promise:
Castthy burden upon the LORD, and he Will
sustain thee.
Why should you carry your burdens any
lchgerl Oh, you weary soul, Christ has
been in this conflict. He says:
My grace shall be sufficient for you. You
shall not be tempted above that you are able
to bear.
Therefore, with all your temptations,
go, as these disciples dill, and tell Jesus.
Again, l commend the behavior of the
disciples to all those who are abueed and
slandered and prosecuted. When Herod
| put John to death the disciples knew that
their own heads were not safe. And do
you know that every John has a Herodf
There are persons in life who do not wish
you very well. Through their teeth they
hiss at you, misinterpret your motives,
and would be glad to see you upset. No
man gets through life without
having pummeling, Some SANDER
comes after you, horned and husked and
| hoofed, to gore and trample you; and
what are you to do3 l tell you plainly
that all who serve Christ must suffer per-
| secution. 1t is the worst sign in the
world for you to be abe to say:
u haven't an enemy in the world"
A woe is pronounced in the Bible
against the one of whom every body
speaks well. If you are at peace with all
the world and every boly likes you and
approves your work it is because you are
an idler in the lords vineyard and are
not doing your duty
All those who have served Christ, how
ever eminent, have been maltreated at
some stage of their experience. You
know it was so in the time of George
Whtefield, when he stood and invited
men into the kingdom of God. What did
the learned DR.. Johnson say of him! He
pronounced him miserable mountebank.
How was it when Robert Hall stood and
spoke as scarcely any uninspired man
ever did speak of the glories of Heaven2
And as he stood Sabbath after Sabbath
preaching on these themes his face
ktndled with the glory. John Foster,
Christian man, said of this man.
Robert Hall is only acting, and the
smile on his face is q reflection of his own
vanity"
John Wesley turned all England ups lde
down with Christian reform, and yet the
punsters were after him, and the me2nest
jokes in England were perpetrated about
John Wesley. What is true of the pulpit
is true of the pew; it is true of the street,
it is true of the shop and the store. All
who will live godly in Christ Jesus must
suffer persecution.
And l set it down as the very worst sign
in all your Christian experience if you
are, any of you, at peace with the world.
The religion of Christ is war. 1t is
challenge to 1.-The world, the flesh and the
DEVIL" and if you will buckle on the
whole. armor of God you will find great
host disputing your path between this
and Heaven. But what are you to do
when you are assaulted and slandered
and abused, as l suppose nearly all of you
have been in your life! Go out and hunt
up the slanderer? o, no. silly mani
| While you are explaining away false
hood in one place fifty people will just
have heard of it in other places.
| counsel you to another course. While
you are not to omit any opportunity of
setting yourselves right, want to tell
you this morning of one who had the hard
est things said about him, whose sobriety
was disputed, whose mission was scout
| ed, whose companiOnsh D was denOunce ed,